Flooring/carpeting project

[jethro]

I finally have a fairly large boat project that is worthy of starting a thread here for. I'm replacing some carpet and by default a bunch of the wood floor in my Sylvan 2100 Profish. I worked on it pretty much all weekend, got the demo and everything stripped down, and all the wood cut. I have 18 pieces to re-carpet, including some aluminum lids over my livewells. Any advice to make that go well is welcomed. Some pieces like the bulkhead (carpeted pieces in the bow beneath the walkthrough windshield) are going to be tricky with the angles.

This is a brain dead project, since all I am doing is replacing exactly what is there, and it's still a serious handful. Makes me really respect what you guys that customize so much deal with. Anyway, not very interesting but everyone loves pictures, so...

All the carpet needs to be replaced, but it's the front and rear casting decks that are really tired looking:

Welcoming any suggestions as to how to fix the corrosion around the recessed cleats and all the snap fittings for the cover. It's eaten the paint away pretty good. Aluminum still seems solid for now but I need to address it. Amazed the factory wouldn't isolate these cleats.

So after a full weekend of work, both casting decks are out, bulkhead, walkthrough steps etc. All the aluminum lids, hinges and angles are stripped and all the wood is cut. I'm ready to start sealing with old timers. How many coats of old timers is suggested?

How horrible is the old timers formula to breathe? I have no garage, and the next two weeks here in NH are looking cold, wet and nasty. I'm wondering if I can bring the pieces into my work, where we have a big warehouse, but it's attached to the offices and if it's a real potent mixture it might not work. I can't wait until it gets nice outside, spring trolling in Northern New England is only a few weeks away.

 

[DaleH]

Not much you can do to repair any aluminum pitted from the galvanic corrosion occurring between stainless steel and aluminum, especially in a saltwater boat. You can put JB Weld or similar stuff on top, but then that calls for new paint job. What you have is that the aluminum ions were actually “eaten away” due to the dissimilar metals.

When I had re-installed snaps on my tin skiff, I placed 0.010” thick nylon washers under the snap before riveting them to the boat using stainless steel rivets (also with nylon washers).

For extra insurance you can also apply Marine grease or sealant to the pop rviet and that helps where it goes through the parent (tin) metal. On SS bolts, the grease even helps prevent crevice corrosion on the bolt body.

I actually have a tube of Tef-Gel you could borrow (if just using to add those snaps) ... as it is the BEST product ever made for stainless steels used on aluminum, as developed by the U.S. Navy.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I did the Old Timers in an attached garage and it didn't smell bad in the house. Since it takes 72 hours or longer to dry doing it inside the warehouse would be better.

 

[jethro]

The decision has been made to plastic off my huge foyer/mud room and open up a vent window and have at it.

How many coats of the old timers do people usually do?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Old timers is not done in coats. You keep putting it on until it pools up on the wood and wont suck up any more. Then you wipe off the excess and let it dry 72 hours min. It can be a messy job.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

When I did my transom 48" wide 16" tall and 1.5" thick of bcx plywood I mixed up a quart and use about 30oz of it. Coat one side flip it over coat the other side and do the edges then flip over to the first side again flip it over then do the edges over and over. Keep doing this until the wood wont suck up any more. I made a few pieces of 2x4 with a deck screw through it I used these to keep the transom up off the plastic covered work table.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

SAFETY WARNING!
Rags soaked in Boiled Linseed Oil can spontaneously combust!
To dispose of them put them in a metal safety can with a metal lid outside or lay them outside flat with a rock on them until dry then put them in the garbage.

 

[DaleH]

SAFETY WARNING!
Rags soaked in Boiled Linseed Oil can spontaneously combust!
To dispose of them put them in a metal safety can with a metal lid outside or lay them outside flat with a rock on them until dry then put them in the garbage.

So true ... a friend’s garage and part of his house burned down once that way. As a kid I always heard about the potential, but thought it was an ‘old wive’s tale’ ... nope!

 

[jethro]

Old timers is not done in coats. You keep putting it on until it pools up on the wood and wont suck up any more. Then you wipe off the excess and let it dry 72 hours min. It can be a messy job.

I found this out last night. It takes an awful lot more than I expected to get this done. Only got one side done, need more materials. Very messy indeed, glad I plastic'd off the entire room.

All rags will probably be combusted very much NOT spontaneously... that is they will go in the bonfire at the end of the project.

Gonna take me two weeks just to get the sealing part done.

 

[jethro]

Pretty much got the job for the most part done, except one very nasty, tough piece. Everyone like pictures, so here are a lot. Sorry DSL users...

Here's the before pics:

Here's what I found under the deck, definitely the start of rot:

Getting things sealed up nicely:

The aluminum hatches are really fun when you can't staple the carpet... bring on $20 in clamps. Took 4 nights to do all hatches just due to clamp use:

 

[jethro]

Bulkhead pieces coming together:

Completed decks:

Forward console thingy:

Again lots of clamps:

 

[jethro]

Some structural issues... carrying channels under the main deck had broken all the rivets and was tearing the beam at the edges, so did a little work reinforcing them and riveting them back in:

Kinda interesting seeing this.. wonder if mine is one of only 125 of these hulls made?

Rivets back in with some added support underneath that you can't see:

Getting ready to lay carpet on the hull itself:

 

[jethro]

Back deck is complete and reinstalled:

The upper cross brace turned out to be an absolute nightmare. It's real tricky getting that piece out and one back in, but mine was really badly rotted, so it's a good thing I got into it:

Lotta rot and the piece isn't really there enough for me to accurately trace. Had to use my imagination a little:

Did my best:

I have a coat of sealer on the upper cross piece and have 2 more coats to go. Then I will carpet it and get it bolted back in somehow. I did the carpet on the hull last night, too dark when I finished to get good pics but stay tuned.

The finish line is in sight.